PT Sewu Segar Nusantara

Sewu Segar Nusantara was established in 1995 as a member of the flagship investment group Gunung Sewu Kencana that has extensive expertise in the fresh food and agribusiness sector as well as life insurance and property. The complimentary business units of the group have established a far reaching distribution network across the archipelago, in addition to strong supplier and retailer relationships.

The company focuses on the production, distribution and marketing of locally grown as well as imported fruit. Working alongside local farmers, SSN has developed stringent quality control measures which are trusted and relied upon by over 1,000 retailers.

Indonesia’s distinct market segments are each covered through the brands of Sunpride, Sunfresh and Sweety which enjoy significant brand awareness as a result of SSN’s pioneering efforts in promoting fruit as part of a healthy diet using innovative marketing techniques. Each brand is recognised for consistency in quality, taste and freshness achieved through tireless research into storage and packaging methods.

Sewu Segar Nusantara also serves as a local partner for numerous international fruit brands such as Zespri for kiwis. For the future, the company is keen to work with further brands wishing to enter the Indonesian market as well as to export its own produce to meet the growing demand in Asian markets.

International Reach

National Reach

Products and Services

A. Tropical Fruit

Tropical fruits make up the majority of the Sunpride product range including pineapples, mangoes, guavas, bananas and melons. Indonesia’s climate and rich fertile land make it suitable for growing an abundance of fruit types in numerous varieties. This has positioned Indonesia as one of the leading global exporters of pineapples, bananas and mangoes with scope to increase exports in other areas such as dragon fruit.

Sewu Segar Nusantara’s continuous research into fruit cultivation and quality control has been diligently applied to their tropical fruit plantations in Central Java and Lampung as well as when working in partnership with third party farmers to optimise their production techniques. This has made their fruit brands such as Crystal Guava, Honey Sweet Pineapple, Honey Melon, Golden Melon, Rock Melon and California Papaya highly sought after by consumers for their exceptional taste.

Currently, SSN exports Cavendish Bananas to the Middle East and will soon begin to export both bananas and pineapples to Asian markets such as Malaysia and Singapore under the Sunpride brand. China is a further target market for tropical fruit export in Asia and the company is ready to work with reputable fruit brands and distributors in this market.

B. Stone Fruit

While Indonesia’s climate is well suited to tropical fruit varieties, other fruit types such as stone fruits are incompatible with the local environmental conditions. This presents an exciting opportunity for fruit exporters at a crucial time when Indonesia’s per capita fresh fruit consumption is poised to increase rapidly over the coming years to converge with regional counterparts such as Malaysia.

Fresh stone fruits including prunes, apricots, peaches, plums, peaches and cherries are not readily available in Indonesia. However, health conscious consumers in the middle-upper bracket are becoming familiar with the health benefits of stone fruits for their high essential vitamin and mineral content in addition to their antioxidant properties.

Sewu Segar Nusantara recognises the potential for stone fruits in the Indonesian market and is keen to work with international producers and exporters that adhere to the strictest international standards and quality control procedures. The company has extensive market knowledge, proven promotional campaign experience as well as distribution network to effectively introduce new fruit types to the consumer market.

C. Imported Fruit

Sewu Segar Nusantara strives to provide the full breadth of fresh fruit types to its customers including those that cannot be produced in Indonesia. Imported horticultural products have become an increasingly significant part of the market as a whole in Indonesia reaching 1.7 billion USD in 2011 from 600 million USD in 2010 (Ministry of Trade). SSN has played a key role in this trend by securing distribution partnerships with household name fruit brands including Pink Lady for their unique apple variety, Zespri as the leading marketer of kiwis from New Zealand and Golden Delicious apples.

The company is currently preparing for an expansion of its fruit product portfolio to add an additional 10 products to the line over the coming years and encourages foreign fruit exporters to enter the Indonesian market through SSN as a partner. Such fruits must bring a unique selling point to the market in terms of taste and variety.

As a local partner, SSN provides unrivalled market knowledge of how to build consumer loyalty and brand affinity with fresh fruit coupled with ready logistical infrastructure and retailer relationships. Previous successes in this field have seen the company become the exclusive distributor for highly popular fruit brands throughout Indonesia.

D. Organik Fruit

The Indonesian market holds distinct untapped opportunities with regards to the production and distribution of organic fruit. As the upper-middle class market segment continues to expand and their consumer habits mature, the benefits of buying organic produce are beginning to be absorbed into the consumer consciousness. Sewu Segar Nusantara has recognised this trend by introducing the Juliet brand of organic apples to the market while educating consumers on the advantages of organic fruit.

The demand for organic produce such as fruit and vegetables is growing throughout Asia and Indonesia is no exception. The main market segment for such products is the upper to middle class bracket that look for quality and taste over price considerations. Awareness of organic products has also been boosted through local and international media coverage. The rise of national organic certification agencies due to an increase in the number of Indonesian farmers engaging in organic practices has also contributed to this trend. Indonesia offers the advantages of being rich in fertile land and has considerable uncultivated land reserves which are suitable for organic fruit production for both domestic consumption and export.

E. Transport & Distribution

Transport and distribution pose the most significant challenges to the fresh produce industry in Indonesia in terms of time and financial cost. Over the past 16 years, Sewu Segar Nusantara has successfully developed a reliable and efficient national logistics network that covers the main cities of the country from Medan to Bali.

SSN’s branch distribution centres are present throughout Indonesia in the five main cities of Java, Bali as well as in Sumatra through appointed and reputable distributors in Medan, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Palembang and Lampung. The network is poised for further growth within the islands of Sulawesi and Kalimantan to effectively serve the local markets there. The freshness of the fruit is guaranteed by the chain of over 65 cold trucks which carefully control the storage environment and thus the maturity of the fruit without the need for artificial chemicals. This has cemented SSN’s reputation as the fruit distributor of choice for over 3,000 modern and traditional retailers including hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience store chains.

For the future, the company will further develop its value added logistics network to incorporate other types of fresh produce such as meat. This presents a significant opportunity for producers that lack an in-house transportation system to take advantage of SSN’s broad coverage and expert knowledge.

F. Quality Control, Research & Development

Sewu Segar Nusantara is committed to the philosophy of continuous improvement at every level of the company. At each stage of the production process from cultivation to packaging for the final consumer; SSN strives to uphold the most rigorous international standards. The in-house research & development team remain vigilant to new market trends and customer feedback for the ongoing evolution of the product and service range.

Unwavering discipline in quality control procedures have provided the foundations for the commercial success and longevity of Sewu Segar Nusantara’s brands. The company works closely with local farmers and producers to create a comprehensive quality control process for the selection of the fruit based on colour, feel and appearance. Fruits are also subject to regular external tests for any harmful chemical traces and accredited by the national certification body Sucofindo.

Ongoing research and development has always been at the core of the business culture at SSN. The R&D department regularly tests new and innovative approaches to the cultivation process and investigates different fruit varieties at the laboratory and nursery in Lampung. Research has also focused on developing packaging solutions to enhance the shelf life of the fruit. Previous success in package design has extended the shelf life of papaya from 3 days to 1 week. It is such innovations that have positioned SSN as the local partner of choice for imported fruit brands.

G. Marketing & Branding

Sewu Segar Nusantara has established its reputation as a leading fruit producer and distributor in Indonesia through the efforts of its team of experienced and passionate professionals. The marketing team work in close coordination with product managers and developers to execute marketing strategies that effectively deliver the desired message and firmly establish brand identity to successfully introduce new fruit products to the Indonesian market.

The marketing department take a customer centred approach to campaigns and strive to fully integrate brand and product management strategies within the development process to create brand equity. As testament to such efforts, the company has effectively covered the breadth of the consumer spectrum through the brands of Sunpride®, Sunfresh® and Sweety®. The brands are known throughout the market for their reliability in fruit quality and taste having achieved 90% brand awareness and 54% for top of mind awareness.

Sewu Segar Nusantara marketing campaigns have played a key role in the promotion of fresh fruit as part of a healthy and nutritionally balanced diet. Educating consumers on how to select and distinguish fruit for ripeness in addition to tips and recipes on how to use and prepare the fruit have collectively created a value added customer experience. Using innovative marketing strategies that take advantage of traditional advertising outlets, public events as well as digital and social media, SSN has built a far reaching and loyal customer base. Previous campaigns include Sunpride’s sponsorship of the Maserati 5k Road Race and pioneering social media strategies to forge an extensive online community that share an interest in healthy eating.

H. Plantations

Sewu Segar Nusantara produces its own group products including Cavendish bananas, Crystal guavas and pineapples in partnership with its sister companies, namely The Great Giant Pineapple Company and Nusantara Tropical Fruit. Both have unrivalled expertise in the cultivation of the best fruit varieties in their field which are supplied to SSN for marketing and distribution creating a seamless supply chain.

The plantations are situated in the key fruit growing region of Lampung on the southern tip of Sumatra, renowned for its advantages in tropical agriculture. The plantations are located in Terbanggi Lampung Tengah covering 35,000 hectares and in Way Jepara, Lampung Timur covering a total of 3,500 hectares with a capacity of 2.5 million boxes annually for bananas and guavas.

Indonesia’s horticulture and specifically fresh fruit sector offers immense potential to investors as they remain, to date, relatively untouched areas of Indonesia’s agricultural and plantations industry. The country’s equatorial climate coupled with the availability of prime land and the growing domestic demand for fresh fruit and vegetables make it an ideal and timely investment opportunity. SSN welcomes new entrants to the horticulture sector and is well positioned to work in partnership for marketing and distribution with plantations that meet their internal production standards.

More about us

Consumer Education

Sewu Segar Nusantara is committed to not only producing the best fruit, but also educating consumers and providing the necessary tools to be able to select and distinguish fruit for freshness and quality. SSN’s marketing team have developed promotional campaigns and practical supporting tools to inform consumers prior to purchasing their fruit thus ensuring that they are always satisfied with their purchased product.

Within the company’s varied retail outlets throughout Indonesia, customers have become familiar with SSN’s informative guides on how to judge the ripeness of a given fruit based on colour, hardness and size. The guides offer information on the maturation process of the fruit once it has been picked and the ideal time for storage and consumption. Such campaigns have made a significant contribution to improving customer awareness, experience and in building sustained brand loyalty.

Working with Local Farmers

Sewu Segar Nusantara works in partnership with local farmers and fruit producers to assist in the implementation of the latest cultivation methods and techniques thus guaranteeing the maximum return on their produce. SSN’s own internal standards for the production and selection of fruit have been developed in collaboration with local producers to provide clear and comprehensive guidelines. Such guidelines focus on testing the sweetness through the BRIX level of the fruit for taste uniformity as well as criteria on the appearance of the fruit for roundness, symmetry and absence of any marks and bruises.

Farmers and plantation workers are also educated on SSN’s stringent procedures for the packaging and storage of the fruit. Premises are therefore required to meet strict regulations for cleanliness and hygiene for the upkeep of the highest international health and safety standards.